Kick Off: 1330, 26/02/2017
Stadium: White Hart Lane
TV: Sky Sports 1
Stoke have only lost on one of their last five visits to White Hart Lane and appeal at 2/1 to again avoid defeat when they take on Tottenham in north London this Sunday.
The Potters have had more than a fortnight to prepare for this fixture, whereas Spurs have played three important matches during that period, with Mauricio Pochettino opting not to rest any of his big names.
Trueform tips: Tottenham and Stoke are fairly evenly matched on our ratings, tracking on a similar path for three rounds of Premier League fixtures and then each having a good and bad performance, so that makes the Potters a tempting proposition at such big odds.
A Look At Tottenham’s Betting Odds
Tottenham’s already slim title hopes took a knock when they were soundly beaten at Liverpool in their last Premier League match and Spurs have since endured mixed fortunes in knockout competitions, easing past Fulham in the FA Cup but suffering a surprise exit in the Europa League.
Even a huge crowd of over 80,000 fans at Wembley couldn’t inspire Spurs to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit against mid-table Belgian outfit Gent on Thursday night, with the hosts twice pegged back in a 2-2 draw as Dele Alli saw red for a horror tackle.
With Pochettino having played pretty much the same team four times in 12 days, there has to be a fear that fatigue will play some part in this weekend’s clash and 29/4 for Stoke to take advantage of any tiredness and claim maximum points looks generous to us, with the Potters having prevailed at this ground two seasons ago three days after a Europa League game for Spurs.
A Look At Stoke’s Betting Odds
Stoke cemented their place in the top half of the table when beating Crystal Palace at home last time out, with the manner of that victory more convincing than a 1-0 scoreline would suggest.
Mark Hughes described that tussle as “a war of attrition at times”, but added: “We always felt that we would see the game through to a conclusion once we went ahead, and we restricted Palace to very few opportunities.”
Having also drawn with Manchester United and Everton in recent weeks, the Potters shouldn’t be frightened by the prospect of facing Spurs and we like 4/1 for Marko Arnautovic to score at any time. The classy Austria forward netted in a 2-2 draw here last season and bagged a brace in Stoke’s 3-1 win at Sunderland last month.
Additional stats
Last result:
TOTTENHAM 2-2 Gent – Christian Eriksen, Victor Wanyama
STOKE 1-0 Crystal Palace – Joe Allen
Head-to-head: Stoke 0-4 Tottenham, Stoke 0-4 Tottenham, Tottenham 2-2 Stoke, Stoke 3-0 Tottenham, Tottenham 1-2 Stoke
